Environmentally Friendly Way to Get Rid of Grass

By

takilasunrise

I wish I had that problem. I have an area in our backyard that I can't keep grass growing! Send your grass this way! : )

By

kimhis

Rent a couple of high school kids to do the work. Remove about 6-8 inches of topsoil and replace all of it with gravel. The only reason grass ever sprouts in gravel is that the gravel is too shallow. Any barrier product will block old weed seeds under it but they will all let weeds sprout and grow very well on top of the barrier. That's why I don't use any barrier, they just end up needing to get dug out again. Ask around and you can always find someone wanting fill, but since you've been using Roundup for years, don't pass it off as 'clean' fill (haz-mat free). New gravel is a bargain and best of all, it will never, ever rot!

By Ashley (Guest Post)

I agree with the wet newspaper idea. I have used it many times. Boiling water works for very small areas like cracks in the sidewalk.

By Rock (Guest Post)

I left out the most important part: grass clippings (still have them from front yard & back yard oval) piled as much as a foot deep.

By Rock (Guest Post)

Yes Yes & Yes! The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book, copyright 1971:
Things can't grow without sun! She proposes a deep mulch over anything you don't want, in your case, grass!

I've shrunk my back yard grass to a small oval for the pets and outside that oval I have room for vegetables, shrubs and even a 20 ft privacy screen thicket of volunteer plants like African Sumac.

By

Jantoo

Sand.

By Satellite (Guest Post)

Best way I have found is to cover the grass with layers of newspaper. I wet the paper to keep it from blowing away. Then cover the wet newspapers with wood chips or pine straw. I took out my entire backyard, little by little, using this method. Try it, you'll like it! It does work best.

By (Guest Post)

Vinegar

By

lorileaf

First cut grass as short as possible. Than cover grass area with black plastic to smother grass. This will take several weeks (4-6). Once it is dead, I would recommend covering the area with a layer of wood chips 6 inches deep. You may get a little returning grass occasionally but you can just spot treat that.

By Sweetu (Guest Post)

Hi. Try pouring boiling water on the grass. It kills it without altering the soil and surroundings. Hope this helps.

By

Lorelei

I can think of a couple of ideas presently. One is to use salt. I pour over my driveway to kill out unwanted grass at times and also cover the soil with plastic sheeting and anchor in place, but not very attractive.